B2B Web Strategy Blog - eMagine

Criteria that will help you NOT select the wrong SEO consultant

October 14th, 2009 Posted by: Matt Roche

No question, search engine optimization (SEO) has risen quite a bit in importance among B2B marketers lately, in varying parts due to the ever-more-cluttered Internet and the consequent increase in search volume, and the desperate desire in the present economy to wring every last lead out of one’s marketing investment.  That increase in perceived importance has fueled a corresponding rise in demand for SEO expertise, most often in the form of outsourced providers.

As can be expected in a market-driven economy, this has led to a noticeable increase in the numbers of self-styled SEO consultants …many of them quite legit.  But in every such boomlet lurk some shady, opportunistic types willing to… deceive their clients in pursuit of a quick buck (Bernie Madoff, anyone?).

So it was heartening to come across a post by Tom Pick that – along the lines of Stacy and Clinton’s “What Not to Wear” – gives a number of indicators which should cause you to down-rate the firm or individual invoking them;  things such as…

• Large number of Twitter followers.  All this means is that here is a person who is really good at attracting Twitter followers;  however, there’s no established relationship between that and quality of SEO practice.
• Guarantees and/or instant results.  No reputable SEO consultant or firm would be so foolish as to either “guarantee” you a specific rank on a particular keyword, or promise you instant results from SEO.  Good ones will tell you that SEO takes time to give results, and that there are too many factors outside your control to be making guarantees.
• Low, low price.  Sure, price is always a factor;  but if it’s almost too good to be true, it just may be.  There’s still truth to the axiom, “you get what you pay for.”
• Excessive ego.  Not that there’s anything wrong with a sound level of self-confidence;  but (in Tom’s words) “if a consultant’s web page or Twitter bio reads like a second-rate late night infomercial, approach with caution.”
• Unrealistic (claimed) level of automation.  All SEO consultants use tools to automate parts of the process;  but if it could all be automated, you’d be able to simply buy an “SEO app”, and you wouldn’t need consultants at all.  Tom again:  “SEO in a box is like wine in a box;  it’s cheap and convenient, but you’ll regret it in the morning.”

By extension, this got me thinking about doing an analogous “how-not-to” list for selecting PPC outsource vendors as a future post.  One thing that will be in it for sure, though…

Reporting consists only/primarily of Google Adwords.  As useful and convenient as Adwords is, its reporting really tells you very little – in fact, dangerously little.  Your vendor should be reviewing your site analytics accounts, to analyze what happens post-click.  On doing this recently for two clients, both were utterly shocked to learn that their paid search campaigns had a 70% bounce rate!  That represents clicks for which they paid good money, but which basically went nowhere useful in a big hurry.  Needless to say, those clients immediately shut off all poor-performing terms.

Clients need to understand the importance of performance metrics, and insist that their vendors provide this level of analysis.  It’s not hard to dig a little deeper, especially as the reporting software is free.  It may not be easy to discover this as a pre-selection criterion;  but should you find your current vendor taking the lazy way out …well, it’s clearly justifiable grounds for finding a better vendor.

Entry Filed under: B2B Web Strategy, PPC, Search Engine Marketing